Delfin Velilla

Delfin Velilla y Paez was born on March 1, 1868 in the barrio of Balangkas, Polo town. His parents were Luis Velilla, a violinist and a man named “Aling Pepiang” who used to own a store.

There are no clear records of Delfin Velilla's childhood, except that he developed an interest in playing the violin like his father. He took a medical course at the University of Santo Tomas, but he did not finish it when the Rebellion broke out in 1896. He joined the Katipunan sa Polo then led by Cornelio Lozada. Their army consisted of 2000 men. Their weapons were only bolos and sharpened bamboo sticks. Later, Velilla and Tiburcio de Leon of Pugad Baboy (now Barangay Gen. T. De Leon) were assigned to create dynamite and other explosives for their ranks.

After the Rebellion broke out, Lozada's group, along with Velilla, fought together against the Spanish, forcing them to move from place to place to find a place to hide. From the area of ​​Pasong Balite (now in Barangay Gen. T. De Leon), they went to Novaliches and San Jose del Monte in Bulacan until they continued to Norzagaray, From Norzagaray, they joined a group led by Gregorio del Pilar, with whom they became close friends.

When the Philippine-American War broke out, Del Pilar's ranks fought again and, when they were defeated in a battle in Caloocan, they retreated to Bulacan, where in the Battle of Quingua (now the town of Plaridel) they were killed Delfin Velilla at the age of 31. He was buried in the Quingua cemetery.

A monument was erected in Barangay Arkong Bato in the city of Valenzuela to honor the heroism of Captain Delfin Velilla. Also, several roads in the city are named after him.

Biography